Immediate Placement of Single Tooth Implants

The first patients receiving Branemark implants were completely edentulous and received multiple (5-6) implants placed in the anterior mandible between the mental foramina, then later in the maxilary anterior region. All of these implants were the "two-stage" variety which classically required three to six months to complete the bone fusion process named osseointegration. Then a secon surgical procedure to expose the implant head for abutment connection and restoration was performed

Although there were limitations imposed by Branemark's system, including the design and cosmetics of the prostheses they supported, for many "dental criples" the return of adequate function was nothing short of a miracle which significantly improved their quality of life.

As a means of treating areas of bone with less than adequate density and volume, alternative implant designs and geometry and the use of osteotomes, sinus augmentation and onlay grafts were developed to increase the predictablility and clinical success of dental implants.

Beginning in the mid-90's, single tooth implants and reduction in treatment time became a primary goal for implant clinicians. Patients were dissatisfied with merely achieveing a stable implant in alveolar bone and demanded funtional and cosmetically-acceptable tooth replacements. As a result, the single tooth implant has become the treatment of choice and the standard of care in many tooth replacement situtations.

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